One of my favorite stories, a little life lesson with a little humor.

A little bird was born one spring in a barnyard a little north of here. Over the summer it grew up with the other little birds around the barnyard. One day an older bird came by and told him in the morning we fly south for the winter. The little bird thought about this and said why, there plenty of food here, it’s a nice place to live, I have a nice nest in the eave of the barn. The next morning the flock gathered together and flew south, the little bird stayed behind.

Life was good for quite a while, it was easier to find food with the other birds gone. One morning he woke up and realized he was cold, he fuzzed out his feathers and huddle close to the side of the nest. Then he thought if I get something to eat I’ll warm up. So he flew down to the barnyard. While pecking around for food a cow walks up over him and crapped all over him. It was really yucky and smelled really bad. But it was warm, and he got to feel better. And feeling better he began to sing. A cat in the barnyard heard him, the cat came and found him, took him out of the mess he was in, washed the bird off and ate him.

The morals of the story are four:

1. You should think long and hard before abandoning time honored traditions and practices.

2. Not everyone who craps on you is your enemy.

3. Not everyone who pulls you out of the crap is your friend.

4. Sometimes even though you are up to your neck in crap sometimes you should keep you mouth shut.